mini MK Trip Report 12/30/2010

We spent part of evening before New Years Eve at Magic Kingdom. I was pretty stoked about going to the park because MK was having the same program of parades and fireworks on Thursday night was they were having on Friday! We arrived at WDW around 3:30 and decided to park at EPCOT and monorail to MK. It turns out that wouldnt have been necessary because we could see cars going through the MK gate from the monorail. Wen through the turnstiles at MK just about 4:00 and the front of Main street was hectic because the Christmas Parade has just ended but we made our way to Pecos Bills to grab a bite using our 30% off coupons. As I was standing in line waiting to give my order I realized the coupon was also printed in the times guide so everyone in the park was looking to eat before the 4:30 cut-off. While the line was long, we got our food without a hitch and fairly easily found a table.

After eating and a quick trip to Guest Relations to get Claude a new WDW Handicapped Pass, we decided to stake out a good claim for the parades and fireworks skipping any wandering or attractions. We paused to watch the 5:15 Move It! Shake It! and then arrived at the corner of the Hub circle nearest Caseys falling in behind two ladies sitting on the curb. They were mother/daughter local CMs seeing MSEP and Fantasy in the Sky for the first time and talking with them helped pass the time.

Crowds for the 7:00 MSEP parade were heavy and I was surprised that quite a few people left after the parade. The wait between each parade and fireworks was kept active by a DJ on the Cinderella stage playing a nice variety of lively music. Holiday Wishes came on at 8:30 and it was the first time I saw it. I was blown away! Lots of green, red and white fireworks with a smattering of other colors but my favorite fireworks effect was a red, green & white smiley face! More people left the park after the fireworks which seemed strange given it was still fairly early. This was followed with more DJ music and another MSEP at 10:30.

The crowning glory of the evening was Fantasy in the Sky with a New Years Eve add-on @ 11:50 pm. FitS was always a favorite of mine but the NYE countdown addition was FABULOUS! TONS of fireworks and a 360 display that circled the entire park!!! It was the best fireworks Ive ever seen in my 25+ years watching fireworks at WDW! While Im looking forward to seeing DHSs NYE celebration for the first time tonight, I also hope MK continues to have the NYE fireworks on at least 2 nights each year because this is going to become a NYE tradition. I already cant wait until next year!

All in all, while the attractions had long wait times, getting a good spot to see fireworks and the parades was pretty easy as long as you were willing to find a good spot around 6 pm and "camp out".

I was there that same night and had no issue finding an awesome spot for the 1030 MSEP right in front of the castle. Spent most of the night between the dance party at the hub and harassing my husband at his attraction. We stayed until 3am when the park closed. We didn't ride anything except for the ride my husband works at, but we spent all night just dancing. It was amazing. The perimeter fireworks were awesome enough to give us a second wind. 10 full hours at MK. Never have I ever spent that long there. But man, it was fun! Definitely reccomend it to anyone.